Most of the time I absolutely don’t feel like working out. But on my first official “workout day” at Project Walk, I couldn’t wait to get started. I had attended one of their open houses the week before and signed up for a three-hour assessment. I arrived the morning of my assessment with my yoga pants on and ready to go, and it was quite the three hours.

The first hour was dedicated to a thorough question-and-answer session about my disability and my abilities at home in order for the trainers to know me better. It only took this long (one hour) because I didn’t go online and fill out the application in advance. They use the info to track our improvements throughout the therapy, and they say that 71 percent of the people who attend Project Walk will get some kind of increase in function back, so tracking is important.

After the Q-and-A, they tested my abilities in my chair to see how much I could move my arms, my wrists, my fingers (even though I can’t move them at all), and my legs. This may seem crazy to a lot of people who are paralyzed, but I’m used to connecting with my paralyzed body with my mind in adaptive yoga class. My teacher will constantly tell me, “Push down through your feet Tiffiny,” even though he knows I absolutely cannot.

Does anything happen? I absolutely believe it does. And that’s exactly what the trainers told me on my first day at Project Walk. After going through the movements in my chair, they transferred me onto a mat with my legs hanging off the side and brought over a full length mirror so I could see myself. It was a simple thing, just seeing myself lounging on the mat, but it felt so good.

And then we went into a series of exercises, and I wasn’t in my chair the rest of the time, which is their goal. I LOVE this. Don’t get me wrong, I love my wheelchair, it carries my paralyzed body through this world, but it’s nice to be free of it. And then the two therapists who were working with me did something miraculous — they helped me get on my knees and hands, a position I hadn’t experienced in years.

After working out on the mat, they helped me to stand, but not in the way a standing frame does. Rather, they sat me on the edge of a mat, and one therapist was in front of me, knees to knees, with the transfer belt wrapped around my backside for leverage. The other therapist was behind me holding my shoulders for balance and before I knew it I was standing.

Was I walking again? Heck no, but it sure felt good to be upright in a way that didn’t require being in a metal frame. I guess you can say it felt more natural, as much as it can when you’re paralyzed and have two people helping you stand up, that is. And I can’t wait to do it again — and it just so happens I will be back!

This Thursday I’m returning for round two. As I told the therapists during my initial Q-and-A session, I have no illusions that I’ll walk again, but if I could just get some better balance in bed and not fall over like a rag doll without being able to get back up, that would be enough. No, that would be freaking huge.

OK, enough for now. Stay tuned for more non-sweaty workouts (yay quad life!) next week.

What minimal return of function would you gladly welcome?